Cyclone Gabrielle: Town cut off as Wairoa River bursts its banks, flooding homes of about half its population

• A state of emergency has been declared across the entire Hawke’s Bay region.
• Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence has requested help from the National Emergency Management Agency as the damage is so much
• Multiple rivers have breached their banks including the Wairoa River, flooding 10-15% of Wairoa, home to half of its population
• In Wairoa, there are very limited supplies of food and water with no drinking water supply due to the flooding
• There have been multiple evacuations across the region including in Puketapu, Esk Valley, Rissington, Omahu, Waiohiki, Jervoistown and Meeanee and Waipawa.
• Several bridges have been taken out with access between Hastings and Napier now cutoff.
• More than 20,000 people are without power and cellphone communication in and out of the region is patchy.

Wairoa River in Wairoa, located between Gisborne and Napier, has burst its banks, flooding homes of about half the town’s population.

The Mohaka Bridge on State Highway 2 was damaged, isolating the town of roughly 8500 residents with the roads impassable to the north in Tairāwhiti, the Hastings District Council said in an update.

The flooding inundated 10% to 15% of the part of the town that is home to about half of its population.

Are you affected? Email to newstips@stuff.co.nz

There were limited supplies of food and water with no drinking water supply due to the flooding, it said.

The only means of communication was via satellite phone, severely limiting information to Civil Defence and other lifeline services, while emergency services undertook patrols and rescues by foot.

READ MORE:
* Cyclone Gabrielle: More than 60,000 homes without power in North Island
* In pictures: Cyclone Gabrielle cuts path of destruction
* One firefighter missing, one critically injured in landslide at Auckland’s Muriwai
* Cyclone Gabrielle set to lash North Island for another day
* Hawke’s Bay told to hunker down as damaging storm moves down east coast

In Central Hawke’s Bay, the Waipawa River and Tukituki Rivers topped their banks. The town water supply has failed due to flooding and the community was reliant on emergency supplies, the council said.

In Hastings and Napier, 16,000 people were without power which could last days or weeks due to a serious Transpower grid issue.

Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence has now requested support from the National Emergency Management Agency, as the scale of damage to infrastructure was beyond the capacity of the region to manage.

Earlier in the day, Taradale and parts of Meeanee were evacuated but that alert was lifted at 4pm and residents allowed to return home.

Follow Stuff’s live blog here

Families were forced to swim through bedroom windows and dozens of others are trapped on roofs awaiting rescue, as floodwaters overwhelmed houses and high winds cut power to thousands in Hawke’s Bay.

Adrianne Mason​ and her family had just moved into their new build home in Whirinaki two weeks ago.

Her 22-year-old daughter was forced to swim from her bedroom window about 4am when the Esk River, swollen from rain from the ranges, breached its banks early on Tuesday. About 100 homes in the Esk Valley were evacuated.

“It’s horrific,” she said. “People have no idea how bad it is.”

The Defence Force was now in the area to help with rescues.

Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence Controller Iain Maxwell said the impact of this cyclone was yet to be fully understood and it was going to take time to fix all the damage.

“Our focus continues to be on people and safety, and making sure those who have lost their homes have somewhere warm to be, food and water. The rest of us need to be resilient; looking after ourselves, our families and our neighbours.”

Many houses flooded in Eskdale and Whirinaki couldn’t be reached by road as the bridge access is washed out. Flooding risk in Waipawa had also triggered evacuations.

Central Hawke’s Bay mayor Alex Walker said more bands of heavy rain were expected overnight Tuesday so people who had been evacuated should stay away from their homes. She also said that people in the area should drink water the council was supplying from tankers .

Video footage shows workers from the RSE scheme standing on the roof of their accommodation, with water lapping at the top.

Fire and Emergency Hawke’s Bay acting district manager Glen Varcoe said Cyclone Gabrielle had caused “excessive flooding” in multiple communities.

Eskdale, Puketapu and Waiohiki areas had been hit especially hard.

“We’ve got multiple people that require assistance for evacuation,” he said.

Greenmeadows resident Paul Hatchard said the rain seemed heavier than the rainfall experienced during the previous Napier floods in 2020.

Several bridges have been taken out including the RedClyffe Bridge in Waiohiki after the Tutaekuri River burst its bank. Part of the Brookfields Bridge in Pakowhai has also been washed away.

Trees and branches had been brought down around the city by the wind. Power was cut to all of Napier and Hastings at 7.45am. It was not yet known when it would be restored.

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council has issued an urgent notice for residents to reduce water use as much as possible. Storm water had “inundated” the waste water network about 6.30am on Tuesday.

“Water should be used for drinking and personal washing only,” it said.

“Do not use dishwashers or washing machines, and avoid showering if possible.”

The issue is causing toilets to back up. Teams are across the district working to keep the network as clear as possible.”

State Highway 2 between Napier and Gisborne, including Wairoa, remains closed due to surface flooding, slips and debris. State Highway 5 between Napier to Taupō is also closed. SH51 between Napier and Clive is also closed.